KraussMaffei teases additive manufacturing announcement

DUESELDORF, Germany—Plastics machinery maker KraussMaffei Group teased that it will announce news related to additive manufacturing at the K 2022 trade show, but declined to provide details.

"Here's a head's up for a world premier at the K show. I just want to say we have something to 'add,' " CEO Michael Ruf said at a June 21 pre-K news conference in Duesseldorf.

Then the company showed a short video with the message: "We have something to add! Additive manufacturing by KraussMaffei."

The company said it would have a "big unveiling" on Oct. 19, the first day of the K show, at its stand (Hall 15, C24).

In response to questions, Ruf said only: "There's so much energy and enthusiasm inside of me. And I'd like to talk about this now for minutes, or even an hour. But please understand that we will talk about this at the K show."

Assembled members of the global plastics media were reminded of the 2013 K show, when rival German machinery maker Arburg GmbH & Co. KG announced on the eve of the show that it was entering the additive manufacturing machinery market, taking the wraps off its Freeformer 3D printer.

In KraussMaffei's case, the Munich-based company already makes injection molding, extrusion and reaction processing machinery. So additive manufacturing machinery, if that indeed is what the company plans to announce, would be a new product line.

While KM gave no details on AM, it did highlight other news at the pre-K event. Ruf started the presentation by highlighting the company's efforts on two of the K 2022 themes: climate protection and the circular economy.

Ruf said KM aims to be completely climate-neutral by 2030, and he noted that the company's new facility in Parsdorf, near Munich, has a rooftop solar system that's one of the largest in Europe.

On the circular economy, he said KM will demonstrate a recycling application at K, with a fully electric Px200-1400 injection press producing 96 insulin pens per shot, and then those caps serving as base material for an upcycling process carried out by a ZE 28 BluePower twin-screw extruder.

After the compounding step, the material will be transferred to a downstream PowerMolding 1300-11900 two-platen injection press, which will make a finished product from the recycled material.